A Forum for Orthodox Jewish thought on Halacha, Hashkafa, and the social issues of our time.

Sunday, July 05, 2015

Ruth Colian, a Feminist I Can Support

Ubezchutan party head, Ruth Colian

Charedi women are slaves. So says Ruth Colian, the woman who founded Ubezchutan,
a political party in Israel representing
Charedi women. Her party ran in the last election but did not receive
enough votes to qualify for any seats in the Kenesset.

The truth is that this party never will. As the article
points out:

Despite the problems facing haredi women, Ubezchutan’s
chances of entering the Knesset are slim, given the way the haredi public,
including the women, largely adhere to the instructions of the leading rabbis
and vote for the established parties.

But what about Mrs. Colian’s assertions? If one looks at the
facts, one would be hard pressed to see the role of women in the Charedi world
as anything but slaves. Albeit willing ones (at least on the surface). They are the breadwinners and the child bearers. They
take care of the children and the house. They cook and clean and work menial
jobs for meager pay. Even those that work at better jobs do it for a lot less
pay than their male counterparts.

I suspect that most Charedi women in Israel are resigned to
their role in life. They have been taught from day one to do exactly what they are doing –
for the noble goal of allowing their husbands to learn Torah. Husbands that spend as much 18 hours a day studying Gemarah and its commentaries. So if asked,
I would think the typical response would be that this is their Avodas HaShem.
Something for which they are gladly willing to sacrifice.

But I wonder what they actually feel privately – in the deepest recesses of
their minds. I find it hard to believe that at some level Charedi women that
have taken upon themselves so much responsibility don’t feel put upon… or
downright resentful of what they have been consigned to do in life.

That said I’m sure that there are many exceptional Charedi women
who are truly happy with their lot. But I’m not so sure the mainstream feels that
idealistic after a while.

This is not to say that mainstream Charedi women want to
destroy their lifestyles. But I do believe that many Charedi women would like to
see some fundamental changes being made in order to lighten their load. I think this is what Mrs. Colian is saying.

But I wonder just how much efficacy her party would have
even if they won seats in the Kenesset. The Charedi politicians are not the
ones who set policy in their party. Their agenda in the
Kenesset is set by their rabbinic leadership. A leadership that sees their mission dictated by God
through His Torah. They call it Daas Torah. They are thus impervious to the voice of dissent, not matter what
challenges the dissenter presents.

This is why for example not a single Charedi party will
accept women as members. Their leadership says they don’t belong there and that’s
the end of it.

But the issues Mrs. Colian raises are real and need to be
dealt with. Why do Charedi women have the lowest levels of life expectancy in
the country? Why is their rate of breast cancer and mortality 30% higher than
the rest of the female population?

“Haredi women are ranked eighth in Israel for life
expectancy, while haredi men are ranked second. This is an unbelievable gap,” (Colian)
continued.

How Charedi is Mrs. Colian and her party really? There are
those that will say that by definition, Mrs. Colian has removed herself form
the Charedi world by – in effect – challenging the rabbinic leadership by
seeking change which they do not approve of. I suppose that’s probably true. Unquestioning
fealty to Daas Torah is the defining characteristic of the Charedi world. And that is exactly what she is challenging:

“The community is becoming more aware of this cynical use
and manipulation of our great rabbis and will come to understand that something
really smells bad with this kind of political model...”

To say the least, you can’t be Charedi and say something
like that!

But the fact is that she comes from that world and considers
herself part of it. She is Chareida L’Dvar HaShem. And her lifestyle is
otherwise consistent with the Charedi lifestyle.

It remains to be seen if she will eventually have any impact
in the Charedi world. My guess is that she won’t. If history has taught us
anything about that world, it is that Daas Torah reigns supreme. I see no reason for that to change. That said
the problems in the Charedi world keep nibbling away at their foundation.

Poverty exists and that is due to the very things that make
these women into slaves: the idea of husbands learning full time with
negligible if any financial contributions. I can’t see things surviving as they
are. Somewhere there is going to have to a paradigm shift. Is Ruth Colian a
female Don Quixote? Whether she is or not, I salute her. Whether she will be any kind of catalyst for change
remains to be seen.

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About Me

My outlook on Judaism is based mostly on the teachings of my primary Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik from whom I received my rabbinic ordination. It is also based on a search for spiritual truth. Among the various sources that put me on the right path, two great philosophic works stand out: “Halakhic Man” and “Lonely Man of Faith” authored by the pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and theologian, Rabbi, Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Of great significance is Rabbi, Dr. Norman Lamm's conceptualization and models of Torah U’Mada and Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who introduced me to the world of philosophic thought. Among my early influences were two pioneers of American Elementary Torah Chinuch, Rabbis Shmuel Kaufman and Yaakov Levi. The Yeshivos I attended were Yeshivas Telshe for early high school and more significantly, the Hebrew Theological College where for a period of ten years, my Rebbeim included such great Rabbinic figures as Rabbis Mordechai Rogov, Shmaryahu Meltzer, Yaakov Perlow, Herzl Kaplan, and Selig Starr. I also attended Roosevelt University where I received my Bachelor's Degree - majoring in Psychology.